Primal: Do You Know Fear?
by Lestat1
Summary: Killings have ransacked Mexico. Unexplained killings, ones that strike Humans, Animals, and Pokemon. No one knows who or what is causing this. A group of men have set out to find this beast, and stare fear straight in the eye.
1. Data Not Found

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Chapter 1

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Data not found

"Dammit!" That word broke the silence. A man in a white lab coat sat at his desk. He ruffled his hair, the papers scattered over his desk were covered with autopsy reports, photos, and sketches. He sifted through them again, "What am I missing?" he thought, "This all doesn't add up." He sighed and sipped his coffee. Finally, he gave up he edited his search and fixed it. Two words leapt out at him, they were the words he refused to believe, but had no other choice.

Unknown Killer

The computer whirred back to life. Flashes of text appeared on the screen, finally the screen went blank. Three words flashed on the screen.

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Data not found

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"Ash, Ash, wake up Ash."

"Huh? Wha?" Ash Ketchum sat up from his bed. Misty was next to him, she woke him up, her hair messy from barely waking up. She held the phone in her hand, "It's for you. He says it's important."

"Who is it?"

"You'll see." Misty handed Ash the phone and put on her bed robe.

"Hello?"

"Ash?"

"Speaking."

"Hey, it's Gary."

"Gary?! What do you want?"

"Well, hello to you too. Damn, its been 5 years and all you have to say is what do you want?"

"Sorry, it's just that I don't usually get calls this early in the morning."

"What? It's only 3 in the morning. I've been up since 1! Anyway, do you think you can meet me over here at Vermillion?"

"What? Why Vermillion?"

"I can't tell you over the phone. Just meet me over here later this afternoon. Bring Misty and Brock too. They need to hear this."

"Well, Misty and I can get there. I'll call up Brock and tell him, he can probably meet you sooner."

"Ok, I'll be waiting at the train station."

"Ok. See ya then." Ash hung up the phone. "Misty, get dressed, we're going to Vermillion."

"Umm...Ok.." 

"Brock, master Pokemon breeder, speaking"

"Hey Brock, it's Ash."

"Oh, hey Ash! Pikachu is doing fine."

"That's good, but I want to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"I got a call from Gary. He wants us to meet him in Vermillion. It's important. Could you go?"

"Ah, I see. I'm over here in Pewter, so I can get there faster."

"Could you?"

"Sure, I'll be there, I'll take Pikachu along too. When are you guys going to leave Pallet?"

"Oh, in an hour or so. We need to get dressed, we'll take the next train there."

"Ok, I'll see you then."

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------------2 hours later-----------------

The train screeched into Vermillion station. The gas breaks breathed their sigh of relief as the doors opened and people flooded out of the train. Ash walked out of the train, his duffel bag right next to him. Brock saw him and Misty, he shouted, "Ash! Misty! Over here!"

"Pika pi!" a familiar yellow rodent ran out of Brock's arms and straight to Ash's hat. 

"Pikachu! How are ya buddy?" Pikachu dug his face into Ash's coat and found a comfortable place on his shoulder and lied down. 

"Well, looks like you two still are pals." A young man, about 18 years old, stood up. His long, spiky brown hair was tied in a medium sized ponytail. He wore a pair of black jeans with a white shirt and a black vest over it. "So Ash, how've ya been?"

"Gary?"

"Yeah, surprised?"

"It's been so long..."

"Yeah I know. We can catch up on formalities later. Follow me." Gary turned around and started to walk towards the exit. Misty was having trouble carrying all her luggage. Stumbling around people she finally said, "Uhh guys, some help would be nice." Ash started to help Misty, but wasn't able to get much luggage. "Exactly how much luggage did you bring?"

"Oh, not much, just my clothes and other items."

"Damn," Gary sighed under his breath, "I hate to tell you this, but you're not gonna need all this tuff where we're going."

"What?" 

"Never mind. Here, let me help you." Gary hurriedly took most of Misty's luggage, not appearing to be straining from the weight. "We're gonna go to this restaurant. Its part inn too. We'll just put these aside there for a while."

"Oh, ok. Brock, why have you been so quiet?" Ash asked.

"Oh, its nothing, just taking in the scenery."

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"When will they be here? We can't waste anymore time."

"Relax, I know Gary, he'll be here."

"Well, he better get here soon, along with that supposed psychic and private."

"Professor Grey, its Lieutenant. Lieutenant Surge." A behemoth of a man wearing a camouflage army suit sat down next to the Professor.

"Why Surge, its been a while."

"Nice to see you Oak, how've you been?"

"Oh, fine, fine. Care for a drink?" Professor Oak called a waitress.

"Uhh, I'll have a beer thank you," Surge said, "Ah, nice little joint ya picked. Why the small pub though?"

"With an operation like this, we need to draw as little attention as possible." 

"Professor Grey, relax. No one really is going to care other than us," Oak said as he sipped his tea. The young man, Professor Gray, ruffled his hair and sighed.

"Gramps!"

"Gary! Over here!" Gary, Ash, Misty, and Brock strolled to the round table.

"Hey Gramps," Gary said, "We're all here."

"We're still waiting for Sabrina.," Professor Grey mumbled.

"Eh, she should be here soon. Ash, Gary, Misty, Brock, care for a drink?"

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"Marcos! Abrre este puerta!"

"Un momento, un momento!" The door opened after locks sounded their unlocking.

"Hmph. Took long enough." 

"Sorry."

"Well, why are you here!? You should be outside helping your brother collecting the harvest."

"But dad, its early."

"The suns barely coming up, go help him before the sun burns us all. Also the animals are still sluggish waking up."

"Ok ok.." The Mexican youth put on a dirty muscle shirt and an old pair of khaki shorts.

"Oh yeah, take this just in case." His father handed him a machete, its long metallic blade glimmered in the early morning sun. The youth took the machete and trotted out to join his brother.

In the early morning, the rainforest was cool. All the predators were sluggish due to the medium temperatures. Here, the heat powered them, occasionally one would run across a stray Jaguar and get in a small skirmish. Every morning, the brothers would go out and chop wood and gather food for the day.

Marcos joined his brother about a mile away from the house. His brother was already busy chopping wood and hooking it up to the Tauros. "Hey Marcos, you're late."

"I know, I know.."

"Ya!" Juan patted the Tauros on the side, it trotted off towards the house. Juan wiped his brow with a dirty kerchif next to him. "So, you hear that old lady Macha saw it?"

"Saw what?"

"Don't act stupid. She saw it...Matarae."

"Shut up brother, you know Matarae is only a legend."

"Yeah, that's what they want you to think. They say its bigger than the biggest Tauros, and weighs twice as much! It prowls at night looking for its prey. Then, it lets out a howl and chases the prey! Awwwwwwwwwwwwoooooooooooooooooo!!!!"

"Stop that Juan. You'll scare the animals!"

"Yeah right, I'm scaring you, that's what I'm scaring."

"I'm not scared!" The two brothers started fighting with each other. The, a loud howl emitted from the rainforest.

"What was that!?"

"Hijo de Dios.." Snarling and growling could be heard around the kids. The ferns rattled and convulsed. A large reddish black blur leaped out and struck Juan down. Marcos only caught a glance at the beast. He threw a rock at it, trying to distract it. It gulped down half of Juan then stared at the boy. The bottom half of Juan still kicked and shook, blood squirted from the pair of legs. Marcos started to run back towards the house, splashing in puddles and cutting himself on branches. He could hear the beast behind him. It sounded like it was coming down fast. Suddenly, the Tauros that was carrying the wood tackled the beast. It started to protect Marcos, threatening the beast with its horns and sharp hooves. The beast lunged at the Tauros and retreated. A gunshot echoed through the rainforest. The beast turned and ran off into the brush.


	2. Gevaudan

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Chapter 2

"Hey Sabrina, what brings you here?"

"Jacque, if I told you, I would have to kill you." Sabrina smirked at the middle aged bartender. Sabrina just finished unloading her baggage from the train. She would have teleported, but according to Grey and Oak, she would need her powers intact. She yawned and stretched, she patted her Kadabra on the head.

"Well, you looking for anyone in particular?"

"Yeah, is Professor Oak here?"

"Yeah, he came a while ago, some other people joined him.."

"Ok, good. Where is he?"

"Over in that table next to the fireplace." Sabrina glanced over towards the fireplace. She saw Oak arguing with Grey as the others tried to calm them down. Sabrina sighed, "Boys...will be boys. C'mon Kadabra."

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"What do you mean we cannot kill this thing!? It has easily killed over 50 people and Pokemon!"

"It could be a creature extinct for millions of years reawakened..."

"Bull! That's a load of bull! Its most likely a byproduct of Tech's experiments! You know this thing is dangerous and cannot be stopped! We need to get over there and kill it!"

"What makes you think we can kill it!? Hundreds of locals already sent out hunting parties with no prevail! Only more dead! Tech couldn't have done this. They do not have the research and manpower!"

"That's enough children." Sabrina placed her hand on each of their shoulders. "Let's just sit down and discuss this like rational people. Also, your making a big scene." The rest of the bar stopped staring at the two and went back to drinking and talking.

---------------------------------------------

"Thanks for separating those two back there," Ash said, "They might have gone fists flying if you hadn't stopped."

"Don't mention it," Sabrina replied, "Let's just get to Surge's house." Surge led the group down the streets of Vermillion. The group gathered their materials and agreed a more thorough briefing would be better at Surege's house. It seemed that Ash was very tense, he kept glaring at Gary and Misty. Whenever Gary would talk to Misty, he would join them immediately. Brock seemed out of it, he just looked around, depressed for some reason. Sabrina walked up to Gary and said, "Careful with the twig, it'll break soon." Gary looked questioningly at her. He shrugged and continued following Surge.

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"Total, the creature has killed around 70 victims All in a period of 2 months. 55 of those victims were trainers, and the remaining 15 were Pokemon, trained Pokemon. The survivors describe it in several ways. First of all, they have dubbed it Matarae. From "matar" meaning to kill." Professor Grey turned on the computer screen and sat down. Videos of mangled bodies, severely wounded victims, and footprints showed. The computer displayed current information:

Name: Unknown (Dubbed Matarae)

Classification: Killer

Stature: Unsure, appears to walk on both two and four feet.

Resemblance: According to reports, it resembles a large wolf.

Description: A large wolf-like creature, with claws like rakes, its arms can turn in 360 degree turns. It has a large mouth resembling a large lizard. It has a very strong odor to it. 

The computer whirred and emitted a deep growl. It then started to project a howl, a howl that seemed to pierce straight to the soul and paralyze it with fear. "My Lord...." Misty said, "Is that the creature's howl?"

"Yes, it is." Grey walked over and turned off the computer.

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"Are you scared about this whole thing?" Gary asked Misty. They were standing outside on a balcony overlooking the sea. Surge, Ash, and Brock were sitting down staring at the stars. 

"Well, I guess I'm sort of scared.. I've just.. well..I don't know. I've never heard anything like that howl." A tear rolled down Misty's cheek, Gary brushed it away with his finger. 

"Relax, I won't let anything happen." Then, a small twig snapped in the distance. Ash got up and slugged Gary square in the jaw. "Get away from her!" 

"What the hell's your problem!?" Ash started to beat Gary down, then Gary kicked Ash off of him. 

"Hey! Hey! If you're gonna fight here, you gotta take it to the gym!" Surge hollered from the chair. Gary spit out some blood and walked to the gym. Misty glared at Ash, he didn't seem to notice, or care. 

"This will be a one Pokemon battle. No time limit."

Ash nodded and called Pikachu. Pikachu walked into the middle of the gym. Oak, Grey, Brock, and Misty watched. "Who do you think's gonna win?" Brock whispered to Oak. "I don't know. Sabrina's down there as ref, and Surge is controlling the electronics. Let's see what happens." Gary took off his coat and opened a pouch on his waist. He took out several small vials and placed them behind him. He took out a black Pokeball and opened it. "Let's go Gevaudan." he said calmly. A huge beast emerged from the Pokeball. It stood five feet tall and seven feet long. It was a large Wolf creature, it looked like it had some feline traits to it also. A huge crystal grew out of its shoulders, the crystal glowed white. 

"What the hell is that!?" Ash yelled, "Is that even a Pokemon!?"

"You haven't met Gevaudan. He's a Pokemon alright. Gevaudan! Slash!" The huge beast ran with cat-like speed and slashed Pikachu with its knife-like claws. Pikachu squealed in pain. "Pikachu! Thunder bolt!

"Absorb it!" The thunder bolt hit Gevaudan's crystal. The bolt was absorbed into the crystal and started to glow yellow. "Black Thunder!" Gevaudan opened its mouth and roared. The crystal started to appear as if a storm was inside of it. A huge black lightning bolt crashed into Pikachu. Geavaudan's crystal went back to its normal white glow. Pikachu was unconscious on the floor, a small puddle of blood appeared beneath it. "Pikachu!" Ash ran out and gave Pikachu some berries, Pikachu didn't respond to the berries. Gary picked up a vile and walked over to Ash. Gevaudan lied down next to Gary's feet. 

"Ash, those berries won't work. Pikachu is dead."

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Sabrina stared dumbfounded at the battle she just saw. A Pokemon that could kill. That has never been heard of. Of course, if driven to extremes a Pokemon will kill another for survival, but this one did at its own will! Its power, is unmatchable. Even the famed Mewtwo, Lugia, or the Mystical birds couldn't stand up to it. It absorbed an attack and turned it against its opponent! Its sheer size and mass didn't make it look any less dangerous. Where did Gary find this creature? What are those vials he carries around? She could identify one as a tonic used to heal deep wounds. Ash looked up at Gary and attacked him, yelling obscenities and going berserk. Gevaudan got up and gently, well, as gently as a thing that size could, removed Ash from Gary. Gary took out the vial he had, and uncorked it. He lifted Pikachu gently and poured some of it on its wounds and into its mouth. He covered Pikachu in a blanket and handed it to Ash.

"Uhh sorry to disturb the moment, but our plane leaves tomorrow at noon.," Grey announced.


	3. Flight

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Chapter 3

"I guess I haven't explained what we are supposed to do." Grey grinned and scratched his head, "When I was notified of this event by the Mexican government, I immediately called up Oak. We haven't found out what it could be, we have several hypothesis, but nothing concrete. The reason we called you up was to tell you that you have been chosen. We are going to Mexico to track down Matarae. Now, it will be at least one or two weeks before we reach Mexico. You see, there is more to the world than Johto and Kanto. We are going to take a flight to Mother Russia first. There, we will pick up two people, our weapons expert and a crypto zoologist. After that, we will fly for a couple days straight to America, we will meet the rest of our expedition at Nuevo Paso del Norte. A small drive towards Mexico's interior will follow, then we will set up base camp and track Matarae."

"Unless it tracks us first.," Oak mumbled.

------------------the next day---------------------

"Now boarding for...." The woman announcer's voice was droned out by the mass of people. 

"Ugh, now where is that plane..." A girl, about 18, walked around lost in the airport, she toted a black suitcase behind her. "Uhh, excuse me sir, couldya tell me where..." 

"Sorry, don't know."

"But, I didn't even finish asking the question!" The girl whined. "Dammit, well, looks like I have 2hrs to find the damn plane..." She looked down at her ticket, gate 28J. Gate 30I was right next to her, ahead she saw a sign that said: 

J Terminals -

"Ah, there it is." She walked off through the crowd.

"I wonder if we'll meet anyone famous Evee." She was sitting down petting her Evee. The luggage was already taken by the helper Machoke. "Ah, a nice long vacation to Russia, just what we need eh?" 

"Vee!"

"Heh, I knew you'd like it. You hungry Evee? C'mon, let's go." She called Evee back into its pokeball and walked into the crowd towards the restaurants.

She stood in the line to a burger place, Aerodactyl Burgers to be exact. She yawned and glanced around the person in front of her to see what was the hold up. In the line next to her, a young man kept glancing at her. He was about 6 feet tall, with shoulder length brown spiky hair tied in a pony-tail. "Jennifer?" He asked.

"Yeah, how can I help you?"

"Jennifer! Its me, Gary!"

"Gary!?"

"Yeah, wow, its been such a long time."

"Uhh next please," the attendant said, Gary realized he was next in line. He motioned for Jenny to come over. "You want anything?" He asked. 

"Umm, sure. I'll have a number 3."

"Ok, a number 3, and a number 5."

"Don't worry, I'll pay." Gary stopped Jenny from pulling out her purse, he put a 20 on the counter.

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"So, what're you doing over here?"

"Well, my Evee and I are going on a trip to Russia. For a vacation."

"Wow, I'm going to Russia too."

"Oh, on vacation?"

"Well, not really." The two continued to talk over their meal. After a while, Grey called Gary.

"Gary! The plane is gonna leave in 30 min. we're boarding already!"

"What gate is it at again?" Gary asked.

"28 J!"

"Oh damn, that's my gate too!" The two looked at each other, stuffed their food into the trashcan, and ran after Grey. (Of course Gary shoved a handful of fries into a napkin before he ran off.) 

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"Gary, I'd like to talk to you about something."

"Yeah Gramps?" Oak motioned for Gary to lean in closer.

"You cannot, tell anyone about this mission."

"Not even Jennifer?"

"Jennifer? She's here?"

"Yeah, didn't I tell you?"

"Well, no. But, I don't want you to get too involved, you two broke up a while ago."

"Umm Gramps... we never really broke up."

"What?!"

"Well, not what you think, we still kept in touch. Hehe."

"Ay Gary.." Oak sighed, "What are we going to do with you?" Oak shuffled over to his seat and sat down, he closed the window and his eyes. The flight attendant announced that the plane would be leaving shortly and everyone should take their seats. Gary picked a seat next to the emergency exit, the one with two seats facing them in front. He saw Jenny walking around the plane, he called her and invited her to sit next to him. Soon after, Brock and Sabrina joined the two. The flight attendant announced that the plane is going to depart, and everyone should buckle up. She then told the routinely emergency exits here blah, blah, blah. The plane started to move out of the gate, it gradually picked up speed until it flew off the ground.

Roughly 20 minutes into the flight, people started to unbuckle themselves and walk around visiting with others. "What was in that vile you gave to Ash's Pikachu? The little guy is running around like nothing happened," Brock asked Gary. 

"Yeah, what was in that vile?" Sabrina added.

"Well, you see, a while ago, I was in a small village on the Orange Islands. There, someone sneaked something into my Venusaur's food. He was getting very sick, eventually he passed away. That's why I wear this necklace, it has one of his teeth and a piece of a leaf. Anyway, the elder gave me a box, inside it was its powders and leaves. Also, a jar with his ashes was in it. The elder showed me how to make potions using the different powders, I never really had any use for them until I met Gevaudan."

"Question. What the hell is a Gevaudan?" Jenny asked.

"I'll explain everything, just listen. According to the elder, everyone has a guardian. Someone or something that looks over him or her. Mine is Gevaudan. I realized that, when I remembered that he rescued me once. I was small, around 9. I wandered around the grass outside of Pallet town. Suddenly, a very angry bunch of Mankeys started to attack me. I fainted, but I could vaguely hear a roar and the sound of fighting. I then felt like I was floating. I woke up at the house. Several occasions that resembled that occurred. Finally, about a month after Venusaur died, I was walking through the jungles in the Orange Islands. I was looking for the cave of the Crystal Onix, I hoped to study and train with it. A group of punks a little older than me appeared. They held a gun to me and took almost all of my money and Pokemon. I managed to beat a couple of them down, then I started to become overwhelmed by them. Suddenly, Gevaudan appeared. He roared in fury and charged at the muggers. They started to send out their Pokemon, but failed. Gevaudan attacked all of them, knocking them out and wounding them not seriously. It was enough to warn them not to mess with me. I took back my stuff and cautiosly walked around Gevaudan. He walked up to me and let himself in one of my Ultra Balls. The Ultra Ball then turned a black color with a symbol of a crystal on it. I found my guardian. After a while, we became unbeatable. All of us, Typhlosion, Haunter, Ampharos, Gevaudan, Nidoking, and Arcanine. At one of the battles though, I accidentally severely wounded the opponent's Pokemon. I automatically took out the box the elder gave me, and ran towards the injured Pokemon. I made a small potion to help it heal. I later experimented with the mixtures. I made one to heal severe wounds, minor wounds, and to bring them back alive. That last one is the hardest to make, I only have about five vials of that stuff left. I need to find some Shining Berries, which are very rare. I carry around a set of vials whenever I battle just in case."

"All of that from Venusaur powders?" Brock inquired.

"Yes. I can teach you some tricks if you want."

"Sure."

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Gary taught Brock the techniques, Sabrina was asleep. Brock was busy studying and memorizing the notes he took, occasionally he would ask a question. Grey and Oak were discussing the techniques they should take in tracking Matarae. Misty and Ash were making up for the fights they had before, and Surge was trying to hit on one of the flight attendants. Gary looked at the TV screen above him, it showed that they were about half way there. Gary then decided to tell Jenny what they were doing. He had to take that risk, if Gramps got mad at him, oh well.

Jenny and Gary talked about Matarae, whatever Gray knew about it, he told her. He then asked her if she wanted to join them. She agreed and made some plans. She would swap her hotel stay for a plane ticket in Russia. After a couple hours, almost everyone was asleep on that plane. Jenny was asleep, her head on Gary's shoulder. Gary just stared at the ceiling thinking. The flight attendant announced, "We will be landing in New Moscow shortly, please bring your seats to their full upright positions."


	4. Russia

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Chapter 4

"Vell Yeti. Whadya think ov this veather?" Ragen Avasimov was sitting in his rocking chair by the fire. The 35 year old weapons expert was slowly sipping on his glass of Vodka. His huge 6' 7" stature made him a formidable opponent for almost anything. He received a call from his old friend Oak. He told him that his expertise was greatly needed. The blizzard was getting loud outside. The small Russian bar was almost unseen in the flurry of snow. Yeti was the part-time innkeeper, even though he belonged to Ragen, he was allowed to do pretty much anything. Yeti was Ragen's only Pokemon. It was about 4 feet tall, its small body was balanced by its two huge arms, which were used for walking. Yeti's real feet were tiny, thus it needing to use its arms to move. This was the same with just about every Yeti.

Yeti grumbled and stopped wiping the countertop. There was really no reason, Ragen was the only one there. Yeti hopped down off his stool and walked through the bartender door. He plopped down next to Ragen and rook some swigs of Ragen's vodka bottle. Yeti belched in content and started to relax. Just then, the door to the bar swung open and a blast of cold air hit Yeti. Yeti roared in anger and waddled to slam the door. A group of people fell in freezing. Yeti sighed and shut the door. He dragged the girls to a bench, Ragen got up and helped the guys to a bench. Yeti hopped on top of the counter and made some hot coffees. He threw in some Vodka to get them relaxed. Ragen handed them their glasses. They gratefully drank the coffee.

"Ah, Ragen. I knew you were here," Oak said shivering.

"Vell vell. Oak, you did make it after all," Ragen replied.

"Uhh if you don't mind, once we finish drinking and get warmed up, we'll tell you what's happening."

"Heh, take your time," Ragen sighed. Yeti mumbled and hobbled over to the jukebox in the corner. He took out a coin and put it in. The jukebox whirred, Yeti put in some numbers. The jukebox stayed silent, Yeti glared at it and hit it. The jukebox whirred and softly played some music, Yeti sighed in satisfaction and went back to cleaning up the bar.

"So, Ragen," Oak asked, "do you still like to be called Kazuki?"

"What's a Kazuki?" Misty said, her voice was quiet. She wasn't used to the cold.

"Heh, Kazuki is a name that my grandfather had, and his father. Its kinda like a middle name. You can kall me Kaz or Ragen. No matter."

"Aslo, isn't there a trainer Kazuki? He's in Palto I think..."

"Yeah. He's competing in the Scorpio Cup. So var, he's in the finals..."

"You a fan of him?"

"Not a die hard one, but I hope he vins."

"Well, we've delayed this long enough." Oak sighed, he sipped his coffee. "Ragen, we need your help..."

----------------------------------------

Umaki sat on a dry tree stump. He leaned back, the day had been quite a challenge. He yawned and pulled out his new machete. He grinned as he polished and sharpened it, it was quite a steal. The little boy didn't have a chance. His gun lay beside him, that was just polished and reloaded, he fired it about half an hour ago, the faint scent of gun powder lingered in the air. Several days earlier, he had heard some yelling, and some odd roaring out in the rainforest. Fearing the villagers were chasing him, he fired the gun in the air. It went dead silent after that, he walked around for a bit. He saw a boy, around 13, he was crying beating his fist into the ground. He asked the boy what was wrong, the boy mumbled something about Juan, and Matarae. Incoherently, the boy started waving his machete in the air, Umaki knew the boy would never be the same. Umaki took the machete from the kid and put the kid out of his misery. 

Umaki chuckled at himself, congratulating himself on his accomplishment. He bopped his current total to 34, and got a new machete too. The villagers or cops would find the body in the next several days. Umaki stood up and walked around, here in Mexico he was a celebrity. In the news almost every week. No one knew it was him, they thought it was something called Matarae. Umaki heard some commotion in the town, the villagers were gathered around a TV. The announcer said, "In the news, world renowned Pokémon experts Professor Oak, and Professor Grey will be visiting Mexico. They hope to track down Matarae, which has been plaguing the villagers for quite some time. Coming along with them, are Orange Island champion Ash Ketchum, Jhoto Champion Gary Oak, Ragen Avasimov, a weapons expert, Vladimir Levy, crypto zoologist, Gym Leaders Lt. Surge from Vermillion, Sabrina from Saffron, Brock from Pewter, and Misty from Cerulean." As the TV showed pictures of the people, some of the villagers started cheering. Matarae could possibly be stopped. One of the pictures caught Umaki's eye, however, it was a girl, 18 years roughly, with reddish hair down to her neck. She wore a necklace of a teardrop, Umaki dropped the piece of grass he was chewing on. She was so beautiful. He pushed his way to the TV and turned it up. "The local guide will be Alé Cano. A local tracker that has been famed for his expeditions into the rainforest." 

"That's it!" Umaki thought to himself, "Good ol' Alé, never let me down." He grinned and walked into a nearby alley. He pulled out a cell phone and dialed some numbers. "Yes, Alé, its me, Umaki. Listen, I have a favor to ask of you...."

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A medium sized man, around 40 years old sat in his office. He had a very wiry small frame. Papers were scattered all over his desk. He looked out the window and sighed, he couldn't believe it, he, Vladimir Levy, had the opportunity to find Matarae. One of the most recent cryptids, but the most dangerous. He grinned from ear to ear until he saw his watch. He realized he was late, he needed to be at Ragen's half an hour ago. He threw on his coat and ran out the door. While he was trudging through the snow, he heard a caw. Of course, he thought. "Kongamato!" he yelled, a small thing resembling an pterodactyl glided out of the window. It was about 2 feet tall, had pig-like legs with a squat upper-body. Its head looked like a saucer with two eyes on top, two small ears, and a nice sized mouth. Its wings were bones with a very fine, transparent silk covering them. 

Kongamato was one of Vlad's latest finds. Over in Africa, villagers found an adult Kongamato, which was around 6 feet long, and killed it. He was in that area, and found a baby Kongamato and took care of it.

Vlad trudged around in the snow, with Kongamato perched on his shoulder. Ragen's bar was only a short distance away. The last night's blizzard really botched up the roads and paths. Vlad whistled an old folk song to himself as he trudged through the snow, Kongamato started to hum along with him.

Vlad finally reached Ragen's bar in about fifteen minuets. He knocked on the door, snow falling from the roof. Yeti slowly opened the door, he put a finger to his lips, meaning to be quiet. Inside some people were asleep on the tables and floor, Ragen was sitting at the bar counter eating breakfast. He saw Vlad and motioned for him to come over. Ragen quietly whispered the past nights events...


	5. Meet The Team

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Chapter 5

"Gah!" Umaki awoke in a sweat. He started gasping for air. "Dammit!" He said to himself. He sat up on the bed clenching his hands. 'She's invading my dreams. All I see is her!' he thought to himself. 'Her, her. Dammit all I see is her!' He stood up from his bed and walked across his small hotel room to the sink. Gently he rinsed his face and tried to get his mind complete. He glanced at the clock on the table across the room. Alé told him that the group would be arriving at five in the morning. It was three thirty. Umaki decided he should go to the airport to meet up with Alé and the group. He looked at himself, tidied up his black hair, straightened his necklaces, and threw on some jeans, a black shirt and a black coat. He loaded his gun and holstered it at his ankle and put some blades in little slots inside of his coat. "Ready or not, here I come," he said and walked out of the door. 

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Surge grumbled as he lost a verbal fight with the attendant. Everybody jeered right afterwards. He asked an attendant for a Heineken to calm him down so he could try again later. 'Okay, calm down. Remember, no catch phrases or sharing beer, its not polite. Screw being polite!! Doh! Calm down...' He thought to himself. He clenched his hands, blood surged to his face. He could tell he was loosing it. Brock glanced around the cabin and saw Surge. 

"Hey, need a little of that Brock charm to help you out?" Brock whispered. Surge looks at Brock in an insulting way. 

"Your still single, aren't you? I don't think that'll work against this bitch." Surge snickered. The flight attendant that Surge was hitting on bends over the intercom and makes an announcement that they will be landing in five minutes. "Perfect position!" Surge tells Brock, "No more beer, don't want to look like a drunken boxer, now do we?" Surge grinned and got up, he licked his hand and straightened his hair a bit. He walked over to the attendant and tells her that was a good fight. He grabs an onion ring out of the trash and yells, "Will you marry me!?!?" Everyone fell over laughing. Brock got up and said, "Oh my god.... you're worse than me!" Surge went back to his seat and buckled his seat belt. They landed and everyone walked towards the terminal. The group walked over to a burger joint and ate some burgers for a while. 

"I can't believe you did that Surge," Sabrina said failing to suppress a grin.

"Yes, I expected you to act more mature," Grey said. Surge laughed, he sighed then took a swig of some Sprite.

"Well, this expedition is too damn boring. If Brock won't spice it up, I will."

"Hey! I'm just getting warmed up!" Brock exclaimed, he winked as he saw a cute Mexican girl walk by. He stood up and strolled over to her. "Hola senorita. Como estas este buen dia?"

"Hola, bien gracias, y tu?"

"Bien bien. Ud. quiere ir conmigo para un caminar en la playa?" The girl gave Brock a strange look. She grinned.

"Si, pero la playa es mas para alli, no esta cerca del aeropuerto."

"Ah, no es importante. Pues, quieres ir a mi hotel? Yo no soy Fred Flinstone, pero yo puedo hacer tu Bedrock." With that, the girl gasped and slapped Brock across the face. She turned around and stormed across the hall. Brock yelled after her, "Yo tengo tele de cable!" The girl glanced back and flipped him off.

"What the hell did you say?" Ash said. Gary, Jenny, Oak, and Surge were too busy laughing their heads off. 

"He told her that he sure wasn't Fred Flinstone, but he could sure make her Bedrock!" Surge tried to say in-between laughs, "He then yelled, 'I have cable TV!' as a last ditch effort!" Surge fell on the floor laughing until tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Laugh it up, laugh it up," Brock sighed as he rubbed his sore cheek. 

Two men walked up to Professor Oak. One was short, dressed in khaki pants and a cheap dress shirt, a vest was pulled over it and an Indiana Jones hat was perched on his head, a bright multicolored feather in it. The man stepped forward, his dirty face in a grin. "Hola, Professor Oak?" he said in a heavy Mexican accent, "I am Alé Cano, your expedition leader. This is Umaki, a former associate of mine. He heard about our little journey and asked if he could come along." Umaki stepped forward shaking Oak's hand, he did the same for everyone. When he got to Misty, he paused, took off his hat and bowed, he gently lifted her hand and kissed it. He grinned and stepped back next to Alé. 

"Jeez. vat a showoff," Ragen mumbled to Yeti. Yeti grunted in approval.

"Well, could you please follow me out front?" Alé turned around and headed towards the entrance of the airport. The group followed him. 

"So Misty, looks like you have a new admirer," Brock winked and nudged Misty. Misty glared at him.

"Well, at least I don't resort to cheesy pick up lines," Misty said, she grinned and jogged up ahead towards Ash. Brock sarcastically laughed, he sped up a bit and walked next to Ragen. "So, Ragen, what do you think about that character?" 

"Umaki? Vell, he looks like a snake, ready to bite. I vouldn't trust him vone bit." Ragen said, he continued talking to Brock. 

Yeti saw a snow cone vendor, he saw snow coming out of a block of ice. '_What the hell?' _he wondered. He then saw some people eating the snow, it was different colors, red, green, pink! Yeti glanced around making sure no one was looking, he quickly ran to the vendor, while smoothly picking up someone's wallet, he looked in it took out a green piece of paper and put the wallet back in the pocket. All Yeti knew was that this green stuff was used to get more stuff. Yeti's mind was set on getting that snow cone. He hobbled up to the counter and pointed at a large cone that displayed the sizes. The vendor looked at him strangely then shrugged. Yeti pointed to a large snow cone and a red colored liquid. He had no clue what the hell he was doing, so he repeated the gesture and handed the vendor the green paper. The vendor took a cone and filled it with the crushed ice, he put some strawberry flavoring in it and handed it to the strange little thing. The vendor took the money and glanced at it, a ten peso bill, wow not bad. Before the vendor could give Yeti the change Yeti was already hauling across the airport terminal towards Ragen.

At the front of the airport, in a small secluded area, a bunch of people were gathered around several vans and cars. '_The expedition members_,' Vlad thought. Vlad sighed, they looked more like a band of ragtag hobos than seasoned expedition members. The man called Alé stopped right in front of the band of people, he quickly told them to line up and shut up. "Well, friends. Let me introduce you to the other members of our little expedition," Alé said clearing his throat. "You've already met Umaki. Next to him, is Armi the Earthquake, we call him Geoff, this guy knows everything and anything on geology, basically you give him the toughest mountain, he'll have it reduced to rubble in a matter of minuets."

_'Hmph, no wonder they call him the Earthquake.' _Vlad thought. _'He's small, and fat. Ok, chubby. He's very, uhh compact. Yeah, well, beggars can't be choosers.' _Armi, grinned at Alé's commentary. 

"Next, we have Zezk, call this guy foolish, but once you see him on the battlefield, you'll regret every word." Zezk waved and winked at Sabrina.

_'Oh, Lord, not another flirt. Well, he doesn't look like much. Kinda small, thin, scruffy. He looks a bit loose too. Well, let's hope he can track and hold down Matarae.' _Vlad thought to himself again. Alé continued introducing the members, there were eight in all. Talon, a female marksman, Rhino, a male power plant, Ghost, the computer hacker, male, Angel, a male martial arts expert, and Sereena, a female goth, who can track anything down with ease. Alé started to conclude his introduction, when a voice came from behind one of the vans. A man, around 27 years of age, walked out. He was tall, and thin, but he had some muscle on him, so he didn't look too frail. "Yo, Alé. Don't forget about me," he said in a fairly normal tone. The man, with a flourish, pulled out a cigarette and lit it, and took a couple puffs. 

"Hawk, how many times do I have to tell you, you can't smoke that out here! Not in the open! Put that out!"

"Yes, yes, whatever," Hawk sighed. He took the joint, took a couple more puffs, and put it out on the ground with his foot. Hawk rolled his neck and stretched his arms out. "Forgive Alé, he doesn't seem to like me much."

"Well, with a name like Captain Weasel, what the hell were you smoking!?" Rhino retorted.

"Rhino, Rhino, Rhino. All muscle and no brains. You see, Captain Weasel is my nickname man! You call me Hawk, how's that?"

"Well, umm Hawk. Are you just a drug addict, or do you have any qualities?" Surge said, a bit cautiously. Hawk rolled his eyes.

"Yes, there is more to my life than drugs. I'm an amature with the sword, I can do some fighting, but I'm not all Bruce Lee style. But, my best talent, is what me and my sister have. Both of us are marksmen. Talon and I can shoot a field mouse in the middle of a field, a hundred feet away." Ragen raised his eyebrows, impressed, but still skeptical. Hawk lit a cigarette (a legal one this time) and pulled out his rifle. He loaded it with one shot. "See, that statue over there? Well, right next to it is a nest. I will fire, this bullet at that nest. The bullet hole will be directly above one of the eggs in the nest, in that tree. The eggs will not be touched or scratched." With that, Hawk jumped to the top of one of the vans. He set his rifle and cocked it. "Ready? You guys may want to cover your ears." Several people heeded to his advice and did so. Hawk aimed carefully and fired the rifle. Ash and co. went to the tree to check out if it was a good shot. When they looked, it was perfect. Just as he said. 

"Well, I'll be dammed," Surge and Ragen muttered. Vlad couldn't help suppressing a smile. He and the others ran to the expedition. Oak and Grey walked up to Alé. 

"Alé, are you ready to got hunt some Matarae?" Grey said grinning.

"Si, senor!" Alé shouted. Enthusiastically Alé grabbed both of their hands and shook them vigorously.


End file.
